


Five Christmases

by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)



Category: Love Actually (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-17
Updated: 2010-12-17
Packaged: 2017-10-13 17:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseafrew/pseuds/Chelsea%20Frew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Juliet and Mark are now friends, and this follows their relationship through the five Christmases after the 2003 movie. There are ups and downs, but will there be a happy ending for these two?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Christmases

**Author's Note:**

  * For [longwhitecoats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/longwhitecoats/gifts).



> My thanks to C for the hand-holding, cheerleading, and beta-ing. This story would not have been completed without her help. No thanks to the cold I got a week before the deadline.

_December 2004_

Mark spied Juliet and Peter in the corner booth and pulled Mia by the hand in that direction.

As they approached the table, Juliet and Peter both rose. Juliet greeted first Mark, then Mia with a kiss, while Peter extended his hand warmly to each of them.

Pleasantries sorted, Mark and Mia shed their coats, and they all got seated.

Before they could truly get a conversation underway, their waitress appeared, took drink orders, then disappeared.

"The crowds today are insane," Mia commented. "It took us ages to get here."

"Us, too," Peter said.

"It's as if the entirety of London decided to Christmas shop together," Mark complained.

"Scrooges!" Juliet declared. "The whole lot of you. Scrooges."

"Christmas is nothing more than a conspiracy to make us spend money on things that no one really wants," Peter countered.

Juliet punched his upper arm. "Bah humbug! Where's your Christmas spirit?"

He smiled at her indulgently. "Apparently you have enough for all of us, so I don't need to have any."

Juliet punched him again, then turned her attention to Mark. "We haven't seen you for weeks. How are you?"

Mark offered her a smile. "I'm good, actually." He gazed fondly at Mia. "Really good."

"How are things at the gallery?"

He shrugged. "The usual. We've got a new exhibition. Lots of scantily dressed women with tinsel hung with care."

Peter snickered.

"Yeah, that's what most of our patrons think, too," Mark revealed, sighing.

Just then, the waitress arrived with their drinks and took their food order.

When the waitress was gone once again, Juliet asked, "And you, Mia? How are things at your office?"

"Same as always," she replied. "It's holiday party planning time. Always my favorite task." Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

"Do you want the gallery space again?" Mark inquired.

Mia shook her head. "Harry wants it to have a more home-y feel this year, so I'm negotiating with this estate house that rents out space. That's woman's a prize, let me tell you."

"Total nutter?" Peter asked.

"Complete nutter," she confirmed. "I'll just be happy when it's all over."

"But you two are doing well?" Julie checked, eyebrows raised.

Mia nodded, and she smiled at Mark. "We are. If you had told me last Christmas that Mark and I would be seeing each other this Christmas, I would have had you committed."

All three of her companions chuckled.

"I'm just so happy for you both," Juliet told them, making sure to make eye contact with Mark to confirm that he knew just how sincerely thrilled she was. His returned gaze told her he understood.

"So," Mia said, "speaking of party planning, your big first anniversary shindig is this weekend, isn't it?"

"Yes." Juliet grinned. "On the actual day, we celebrated just the two of us. I would have been happy with that, but Peter insisted we have a party."

"Peter insisted?" Her husband eyed her skeptically.

Juliet's grin intensified. "Okay, I wanted it, too. You're both coming, right?"

Mark's grin matched hers. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Peter raised his glass. "To happiness."

"Cheers," Mark returned, and clinked his glass on the others.

"So," Juliet noted, sipping at her wine. "It's nice to know you're not such Scrooges after all."

Mark grinned evilly. "Oh, I don't know about that. Did I tell any of you what my crazy family wants to do for the holidays this year? Wait 'til you hear this."

 

 _December 2005_

When Mark arrived at the pub, Juliet had a mug of Guinness waiting for him. After shrugging off his coat, he sank into the seat next to her and immediately took several large sips. With his initial need for alcohol sated, he turned to Juliet. "Hi."

She smiled softly, kindly. "Hi."

"Thank you so much for meeting me," he told her. "I couldn't bear the idea of an evening alone at my empty flat. Especially not four weeks before Christmas. All those cheesy specials on the telly…." Just the thought made him shudder.

"I am happy to commiserate." She took a sip from her own pint.

"I can't believe she broke up with me."

Juliet pursed her lips and shot him a skeptical look. "Really?"

He sighed deeply. Twice. "No, I guess not. I can completely believe she would break up with me."

She reached over and squeezed the top of his hand. "Mia just wasn't built for a long-term relationship. To be honest, I'm surprised the two of you lasted a year."

"A year and a month," he corrected her.

"Sorry," she said with almost-sincerity. "A year and a month."

He gave her an almost-scornful look and then drained a sizeable portion of his Guinness.

"She did it by text. Did I tell you that part?" Mark inquired.

"No! You absolutely did not. She sent a text? Seriously?"

"'Mark, I don't think we should see each other anymore. Take care,'" he recited from memory.

"Oh, Mark," Juliet whispered, "that's awful. Truly awful."

"Isn't it?"

"You deserve better. You know that, right?"

He shrugged.

"You do," she assured him.

With a grateful smile, Mark lifted his mug again and finished his pint, instantly rising to head to the bar for more. "You want another, too?"

She shook her head. "I'm still working on this one."

He was back less than five minutes later with his second drink.

"So…," Juliet began slowly, clearing her throat. "While we're on the subject of break-ups, I have news."

"Oh?"

"I was served with divorce papers this morning."

Mark bolted straight upright in his seat, shaking the mug he was holding so much that beer sloshed all over the table. "What?!"

Juliet's smile was sad, and Mark could tell she was on the verge of tears. Her voice trembled as she explained, "Peter asked for a divorce. Apparently, he's fallen in love with someone else."

Mark immediately twisted in his seat so he could wrap her in his arms. "I am so, so sorry."

She cried into his shoulder for a full minute before pulling herself away, wiping tears from her eyes. "I am such a cliché. Crying in the pub over my broken marriage."

"You're completely entitled, Juliet," he assured her. He paused for a breath, before going on. "I had no idea. The last time I saw Peter, he said everything was great with the two of you."

"I had no idea, either," Juliet confessed. "Not until I got the papers this morning and sat down with Peter at lunch."

Mark ran a hand over his mouth, shock still coursing through his system. "That bastard."

"I think he thinks he's doing the right thing, telling me now, asking for a divorce."

"Doesn't make him less of a bastard," Mark retorted hotly. He could not have been more enraged on her behalf if he had tried.

Juliet tilted her head and gazed at him, lips pursed as she considered his words. Finally, she nodded. "You're right. He is a bastard," she agreed forcefully. "A great, giant one." For added emphasis, she drained her glass.

Mark smiled. "Second drink?"

"Bring 'em on," Juliet ordered. "I don't know about you, but I'm just getting started."

 

 _December 2006_

"Excuse me, what did you say?"

"I said I wondered where Dominic misplaced his sense of humor. It seems to be missing."

"He has a sense of humor," she argued.

"Are you sure? I've never actually heard evidence," he argued back.

"Don't be mean."

"It wouldn't be the first thing Dominic's lost."

Juliet shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You'll tell me whether I ask or not, won't you?"

"His hairline."

"Mark, stop."

Despite the hint of warning--he'd known her long enough to recognize it in her voice--he went on. "He's kind of missing any kind of fashion sense, too."

The warning tone was replaced with a frosty one. "What has gotten into you?"

"I'm not allowed to express my opinion?"

"Not if your opinion is wrong."

"Wrong?" Mark shot back. "My opinion is not wrong. An opinion can't be wrong."

"Yours can."

"If he has no sense of humor, a receding hairline, and dresses in clothes he bought at a thrift store, that is not my fault."

Juliet's cheeks were flushed as she told him, "You don't even know him."

"I know him well enough. Well enough to know he has zero marketable skills and almost no job prospects." He knew his own tone was harsh, but he couldn't seem to help it. Not at this point, anyhow.

"He's an artist," she countered hotly.

"Give me a break. I work in a shitty gallery, and even they wouldn't take that crap he calls art."

"You're just jealous."

He snorted. "Jealous? Of Dominic? Um, no."

"He's never, ever done anything to you," Juliet reminded him, her look one of pure disgust. "I don't understand."

"He's not good enough for you, Juliet," Mark told her with all sincerity.

"How would you know what's good enough? You can't even keep a girlfriend."

The insult stung, just as he knew she intended it to. So he felt justified in explaining himself as plainly as he could. "He's an ass. He's never going to have a proper job, he's never going to make you laugh, and he's duller than a bag of hair. But if that's what makes you happy…."

"You know what would make me happy? You leaving." She stormed over to the front door of her flat, opening the door wide.

The frosty December air passed over him as he stood. "Juliet…."

"No, Mark, I've heard quite enough. You made yourself clear. Now get out."

With a sigh he grabbed his coat from the chair he'd slung it over when he'd arrived.

As he approached the open doorway, she added, "You needn't bother to call me, text me, or e-mail me. I have no interest in hearing anything more from you."

"Juliet--"

"Out!"

He was pretty sure the tears in her eyes were not from the bitter chill from outside; even more, he knew he deserved the guilt beginning to eat at his stomach. He made no more attempt to stay, however, and walked out the door, jumping as it slammed behind him.

What had he just done?

 

 _December 2007_

"Do I have to?" Mark asked, teeth chattering, stuffing his hands further into his jacket.

"Yes," Jamie assured him, "you do."

"But I don't feel like Christmas shopping," Mark whined, aware that he sounded like a two year old, but not really caring.

"Then think of it as the price for dinner at that cool new place in Covent Garden we've been talking about trying," Jamie suggested.

Mark sighed. He wanted nothing more than to turn back around and walk the fifty feet back to his front door.

"Come on, Mark. Aurelia keeps asking me how you are. Save me from all the inquiries. Please?"

Mark sighed once again. "Fine. I'll come."

Jamie grinned. "Great! Let's go. Aurelia's going to meet us there."

The Tube was crowded, but they made it to Covent Garden in a decent amount of time.

"So, where are we meeting Aurelia?" Mark asked as they exited the Underground station.

"At this café she's obsessed with," Jamie answered, turning to the left.

Mark followed, and it wasn't long before they arrived at a small café nestled between a flower store and a newsstand. When they entered the small establishment, Mark immediately spotted Aurelia sitting at a table by the window. She was not alone. She was with Juliet.

Mark wasted no time swiveling on his heel to leave the café, and this time it was Jamie who followed.

"Wait, Mark," he pleaded to Mark's back.

Reluctantly, Mark stopped, moving far enough away from the door to not block the entrance before turning to face Jamie. "I don't even know what to say."

"We didn't know what else to do," Jamie explained. "You're miserable, she's miserable. You miss each other. You need to talk to her."

"She told me very clearly that she wished never to hear from me again," Mark reminded him.

"She broke up with Dominic."

Mark couldn't believe his ears. "Sorry?"

"She broke up with him. He cheated on her."

The gasp was involuntary. The deep breath was not, and Mark exhaled it slowly.

"Mark, she needs you," Jamie went on. "Aurelia and I have tried to be there for her, but she needs her best friend."

Mark sighed. "I don't know what to say to her."

"Tell her you love her, and that you miss her, and that you're there for her," Jamie suggested.

"What if she doesn't care?"

Jamie shook his head. "Not a chance. I have it on good authority she does. She is just as clueless as you about how to get past this."

"Okay," Mark agreed. "I'll try. But I'm blaming you if this is a disaster."

Jamie nodded. "Understood."

Mark turned around and headed back into the café. This time, he walked right up to the table where Aurelia sat with Juliet. Both women rose as he arrived.

"Mark!" Aurelia greeted him brightly, immediately pulling him into a hug. As she did so, she whispered in his ear, "Please forgive us. We didn't know what else to do."

When he pulled away, he smiled down at her, letting her know he didn't hold anything against her.

Finally, Mark turned to Juliet. "Hi," he said warily, still unsure of the kind of welcome he'd receive.

"Hi," she returned, her own tone shy.

"I guess we've been set up," Mark went on.

"You didn't know, either?" Juliet raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw Jamie sidle up to Aurelia to slip an arm around her shoulders, both of them keeping an anxious eye on the reunion they had orchestrated. He shook his head. "No, I didn't. I was dragged here under false pretenses." He stared pointedly at Jamie for a moment, and Jamie did have the grace to blush, as did his wife.

"What did they tell you you were going to do?" Juliet asked.

"Shopping and dinner."

Juliet's mouth quirked in a smile. "At least they're consistent."

They both fell silent for a moment. Mark didn't quite know what direction to take the conversation in. After discarding several ideas which crossed his mind, he finally went for the simplest. "Jules, I'm sorry."

With the softest of smiles still on her face, Juliet met his gaze. "Me, too."

"I shouldn't have said all those things," he continued with his penance. "They were mean and petty."

"And, as it turns out, completely correct," Juliet told him, clearly full of regret. "He was dull and boring, and he couldn't keep a job, and, as turned out, he wasn't quite capable of being faithful."

"I knew he wasn't good enough for you," Mark professed. "You're well shot of him. You can do way better."

Juliet reached out to him, and he pulled her in for a fierce hug. "I missed you," she admitted, holding on tightly.

"I missed you, too. More than you will ever know."

When they parted, they turned to Jamie and Aurelia, who wore matching grins on their faces. "Well done, you two," Juliet allowed.

"We are so happy it works," Aurelia said.

"Worked," the other three corrected in unison, just like old times.

"Now, I believe Juliet and I were promised shopping and dinner," Mark announced, smiling widely.

"Oh my God, there is this amazing cooking store just around the corner." Juliet squeezed Mark's upper arm with both hands in her happiness. "Perfect for things for the mums on Christmas."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mark wondered aloud. "Juliet, lead the way."

 

 _December 2008_

"Everything's so pretty," Juliet said as they strolled down Oxford Street.

Mark juggled his burden of shopping bags. "Are we done? I would be happy to enjoy the view if I knew we were done."

Juliet smiled sweetly at him. "We're done." After a pause, she added, "For now."

"Then can we find some place to put all this?" He held up his hands, each gripping at least three full bags. The one from HMV almost fell from his grasp at the motion.

She frowned. "But I wanted to see the tree at Trafalgar Square."

He sighed, then smiled at her indulgently. "If you let me drop these off somewhere--yours or mine, I don't care which--then we can go see the tree at Trafalgar Square."

Her grin was ear to ear. "Yay! We can drop them at my place, then go to the tree."

It took about an hour and several stops on the Tube, but soon a package-less Mark and a beaming Juliet emerged from the Charing Cross station and headed in the direction of Trafalgar Square, Juliet's arm hooked through Mark's.

As they approached the large tree standing in the square, Juliet stopped in her tracks. She pulled in a deep breath and smiled widely. "It's so beautiful! Look at Lord Nelson, presiding over everything."

Mark looked up at the famous statue. He passed by it several times a year, on his way to this place and that place, but he never really looked at it closely. It did truly look like Nelson was keeping a careful eye on all the goings on in his square.

"Did you know that the tree is a gift from Norway every year for our help during the Second World War?" Juliet asked.

"I think I did know that," Mark replied. "But I had forgotten."

"I think it's a lovely tradition."

They stood in silence for a few moments, each enjoying the view. Night had fallen completely, and the twinkling lights from the tree cast everything in a multicolored glow. The air was cold, and their breath flew in wisps from their mouths. Mark could not imagine a more wonderful moment than this one.

"So pretty," Juliet whispered on a sigh.

Mark could no longer contain himself. "Not as pretty as you."

Juliet tore her gaze from the tree and looked up at him, smiling. "You're so sweet."

He shook his head. "No, it's more than that, Juliet. It's like I said on those stupid cards the year you married Peter. To me, you are perfect. More beautiful than anything or anyone I have ever seen."

The blush which crept up her neck onto her cheeks made Juliet look almost incandescent.

Mark knew he had no other choice than to go all in. "And I still feel just as I did back then. I love you."

When she opened her mouth to respond, he raised a gloved finger to her lips. When she nodded to allow him to continue, he removed his finger and did. "At Christmas, you tell the truth, remember? I want to be clear, even if I can't do it with cards this time. I love having you for my best friend. But I want you to be more than my best friend. I have never stopped being in love with you. Not since the moment Peter introduced you to me. My heart is yours, Juliet. If you'll have it."

"Can I speak now?"

He nodded, trying valiantly to ignore the butterflies tumbling in his stomach.

"I thought those cards that year were the most romantic thing anybody would ever do for me," she admitted. "Looks like I was wrong. Mark, I love you, too. I'll take your heart. If you'll take mine."

There was no need for any more words. Placing a hand on each of her cheeks, Mark pulled Juliet's face up so he could press his lips to hers for their first kiss as a couple. In many ways, it was like the other kisses they had shared in the many years that they'd been friends. It was warm and soft. Comfortable. But this kiss…this kiss was different, too. This kiss held promise and passion. And love. Lots of love.

It was going to be their best Christmas yet.

End (16 December 2010)


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